Allsopp re-elected as Bay of Quinte MPP

By: Hailey MacDonald

BELLEVILLE – Tyler Allsopp has been re-elected as Bay of Quinte MPP following Thursday night’s election. Allsopp won by just over 6,100 votes with almost 21,000 votes overall. Liberal David O’Neil came in second with 14,870 votes. 

Allsopp is part of the Progressive Conservative majority elected across Ontario. It’s the third straight majority government for the Conservatives led by Doug Ford. 

QNet News had the opportunity to interview Allsopp moments before he was declared as the winner of the election.

When asked how he would tackle the tariff threats being imposed by President Donald Trump, Allsopp said the first goal is avoiding them.

“The first thing is making sure the tariffs don’t come in. We’ve been doing a really good job of advertising in America, talking to governors, senators, mayors, letting them know why we’re stronger together and all of the great economic advantages that we have partnering with America,” Allsopp said.

“We’re trying to convince them to let President Trump know that this is not in their best interest. If the tariffs do come in, it’s about how we respond, both in terms of the retaliation and how we show up our economy.”

Allsopp spoke about other concerns he and his team heard from residents in the Bay of Quinte during their election campaign.

“Certainly showing up in the healthcare and education system, we know we have challenges with Loyalist College right now, that would be the first call I make tomorrow to see what we can do to support our colleges, because we know that we need that high quality education close to home, it’s much less affordable for people if they have to travel to get a good education, and there are so many great programs offered at Loyalist,” he said.

“On the healthcare front, we know that the wait times in Belleville General Hospital are some of the highest in the province. As I was talking to the CEO, Stacey Daub, they need five new emergency doctors, so I’ll be pursuing that and also our attachment rate is relatively low, we need to make sure we’re getting funding to bring new doctors in to this community, as well as healthcare teams and nurses as well.”

When asked what it was like being apart of an election in the middle of winter compared to September, Allsopp said it was very different and they went from ‘heat stroke to hypothermia’. 

“It was much slippier out there during door knocking, people don’t tend to want you at their door as long, and getting signs in the ground, we had to innovate to get up those big signs, I bought a concrete drill bit to drill into the frozen ground, we’re zip-tying signs,”

“It has forced us to be a little bit more resourceful, it’s tested our resolve, but we got out there, we knocked on doors everyday and heard their issues and I think that’s the only way to do it. You can’t sit in your office everyday and get the full picture of what’s going on, you have to get around and talk to people.”

QNet News also had the opportunity to speak with Bay of Quinte MP, Ryan Williams, who was in attendance to show his support for the newly re-elected Bay of Quinte MPP, Tyler Allsopp.

“I think it’s phenomenal. I’m just so happy to be working alongside Tyler. We actually say this is the new generation. Representing really what is the future of this region and I think that’s so important to have these conversations,” Williams said.

“We work really well together on fixing local issues, to build up this region, to attract good employees, have good investors and grow this region so people have a better future here.”

Allsopp said he would like to thank his family, friends and supporters for their dedication during the election, he also made a special note thanking all voters, regardless of the party, for casting their vote and making their voices heard in the community. 

Allsopp additionally thanked his opponents in the riding, saying he enjoyed their ‘respectful interactions throughout this campaign’.